An Addicted Nation
 

There have been some amazing facts floating around in the post-seasonal hangover as the Government and the nation comes to terms with a pervasive and damaging addiction - alcohol.

The Times use a great picture that epitomises the drink culture in the UK today...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/multime...ow_674062a.jpg

The numbers make interesting reading: -

In Scotland the average alcohol consumption is just under 50 litres of Vodka equivalent per annum for every adult. Which makes the consumption for active drinkers signifcantly higher than that.

This is 25% more than England.

Scotland spend £50,000 per day on Buckie alone!

There are 1,500 deaths directly linked to alcohol per annum in Scotland.

There are 860,000 hospital admissions directly linked to alcohol in the UK every year - this is up 69% since 24 hour opening.

Pensioner admissions linked to alcohol are also up 2/3rds.

The UK surpassed the Mediterranean countries in 2004 for cirrhosis of the liver and continues to pull away.

Death from liver disease also continues to rise in spite of all major fatal diseases such as heart attack, stroke and cancer continuing to fall over the past 30 years.


So put your glasses down and keep your granparents away from the Buckie and Sherry.

Phew, glad I dont drink lol
Never saw the point in it myself, nor smoking :)

Shocking numbers though, if to be believed fully.

The pure alcohol number for Scotland is 11.8 litres per annum - but like most hard drugs it is cut with something else before being used by the addict.

I don't think "everything in moderation" applies to that young lady!
ps Does Becks know where his Missus is?

I love the nanny state. We all have to die from something. Surely its up to people themselves what they do. If we keep trying to ban or alter the behaviour of what kills us we will be left with a very boring place to live in.

It just goes to show how safe society really is (away from tabloid headlines), that the nannies greatest focus is on things that are self inflicted. Today its alcohol, tomorrow is tabacco, followed by dangerous sports, cars, aircraft, mobile phones etc. The type of people who complain about this stuff just don't give up, they are never happy :mad:

People know the risks, let them get on with it :)

If booze was invented within the last 20 or so years it would be a class B drug and illegal. However, it's been with us for waaaaaaaay longer than that and is just a part of society now. I'm probably the worst kind of drinker; I don't drink for weeks (sometimes months at a time) and then an event crops up and it's all hands to the pump :D

Yes, but the government doesn't advertise out of the goodness of their heart it is because it costs too much money. The extra drain on hospitals and policing means they try to cut down.

In the same way that the government doesn't care if you are unfit, fat etc... apart from the fact that you'll end up on medication and/or in hospital and it costs too much money ...

Steve

The scots like a good drink because it warms them up (its pretty cold up the top end :D )

Ye,s we did not see anybody else walking around with a short sleeved shirt when i was in crail :lol:

Isn't it still illegal to sell alcohol to a person who is drunk? Why don't they just enforce the current laws? Could it be that there's more tax revenue to be raised by raising the price?

It seems the government have found the cure, the cure is taxation and/or a minimum cost per unit for alcohol. It is the evil shopkeepers and barstaff poisoning the yoof and indeed the old duffers and they should all be banned or branded 'pushers'. Back to rights and responsibilities and boundraries.

It hardly needs saying (when has that ever stopped me) but here goes; Alcohol is here to stay, it will not get banned for several reasons including the revinue prohibition just does not work.

Increasing the unit cost will make it more expensive, it will not effect the people who abuse it.

This is all about attitude and that needs to change, parents, schools, communities, shops, stores, pubs and indeed those individuals drinking to excess.

When our eldest daughter had an allergic reaction to cashew nuts and we called for an ambulance, they came, treated her and took her into hospital. I travelled down with the crew in the 'bus'. Chatting to the paramedic he stated that our daughter (5 at the time) was the first child he had treated that day that was not alcohol related.

We live on a 'nice estate' outside town, most parents work, houses in excess of 200K and luckily no 'social housing' and associated dertitus;). Walking the kids to school you see the discarded wine bottles, beer cans, cider bottles, etc in the bushes and verges load of them. The 'problem' is everywhere and not confined to any social or age group. However, it does seem that kids are getting younger and openly drinking wherever they choose to with little interference.

Increasing the prices may generate revenue to help pay for the effects of the booze but it is a soicial problem that needs to be tackled.

Having the pubs and clubs open longer - has that really helped???

likewise. i went out on the day we finished for christmas. finished at 1pm, went to the pub and had to leave a 8.30pm having run out of money. I had spent £100 ffs. Managed to walk into town(about 10mins) and got the bus home. Was a bit squiffy but not falling down drunk. and i wonder why i don't drink that often. :rolleyes:

Exactly :thumb:

This so-called government would rather bring in a shed load of new laws which can be mis-interpreted, abused and extended (and raise lots of revenue) rather than enforce existing laws that are perfectly adequate :rolleyes:

mb

Our attitude to booze in this country if f*cked up, alcohol is great and can enhance things but we dont do "less is more" in this country and just get slaughtered, I am not saying I am immune or any better but I do see it for what it is, the daft "Its got to be done" line about getting drunk, no it doesnt, its not clever or honourable, being able to drink 20 pints is not an acheivement.

I would hate to have to give it up, I beleive it is a good thing being used badly and causing a lot of problems, other countries manage to drink, say France for example and not have so many problems, a few glasses of wine with a meal, a nice beer in a cafe, they dont do the pint after pint thing we do, perhaps the problem, strong ale sold in large measures, on the continent its usually in half pints, definitely smaller (unless sin Germany then its massive) and generally sipped to savour rather than swigged to get bladdered.

The Scottish figures are horrendous, allowing for those who drink little or no alcohol, a lot must be drinking all day, every day, its not much better down here really.

I like drinking but find if I do it every day its not special, it should be a treat, the exception, not an everyday part of your routine, its like food, what used to be treats like our yearly visit to McDonalds or occasional cakes from the cake shop for a lot has become the norm, families that just eat takeaways and never cook vegatables, this is why we have so many knackered walking dead on long term sick, sick from over-eating, boozing, sloth and the things they crave are what are killing them.

As for letting people get on with it, all very well and I dont like responsibility for my own actions being taken away from me but some people seem to be a different breed and they cant manage their own intake, its when they start impacting other, law abiding people it becomes a problem, minding your own and you get battered for no other reason you were there, generally, most of the time, thats booze, you have a bad car accident and go to Accident and Emergency and dont get seen for four hours cos the place is full of p1ssed up arseholes who have fallen over or got in a fight.

I thinkt he government are right to try and curb our alcohol use, they have an uphill battle as its so endemic and routine, the hospitals are full of people with alcohol problems, they cant work so beome a burden to society, along with all our "imports" its no wonder the responsible are getting taxed to death.

I can sort of see why the Muslims think Sharia law might be a good idea, imagine drivign through a town centre sobre every night, say in your taxi and having to deal with that every night, I can see, how to an outsider it looks bad, really bad, personally i dotn want Sharia law and still want to be able to have a drink so would like the out of control to stop drinking so much and causing trouble.

I enjoy a drink in the evening and in past times I have been to events, notably in the RAF where I have "tied one on" and kept up with the others but within reason. I never looked forward to the hangover to come though.

I have never felt the need to binge drink however and have never been so incapable that I could not find my own way home or upset anyone else.

I have not become dependent on alcohol and would not want to be so silly as to do so. It is like all the other drugs, it creeps up on you until you are hooked and you need to be aware of that.

There is surely still no reason why you should not be able to control your consumption so that you enjoy it but you don't let it damage you.

Can anyone tell me why we now have this problem, its not as though we are living in dreadful conditions that we want to forget etc.

Why do people get themselves in such a state? Can't they see what they are doing to themselves? Is there a lack of education when they are growing up. As children we were not allowed alcohol so that we could not develop a taste for it before we were old enough to control it. is that part of the problem these days? Is there no guidance?

Les

A slight tangent I know, but what, if any, action would be taken against bar staff / bar owner if they served someone who was drunk (wether they walked in drunk, or proceeded to get drunk in their establishment) and then who went on to be arrested for being drunk and disorderly or they decided to be a melon and jump in a car and drive and then got pulled and arrested for drunk driving?

I know that in the US (perhaps just certain states? I can only speak from experience of Illinois) that it's an offense for the bar staff to serve you if you are drunk because if you go off and get a DUI then they are responsible, and thus can be prosecuted.

I ask this as perhaps something similar may have an effect on the issue. Then again, it is nannying of a form, and people should be responsible for their own actions and not be able to blame someone else for letting them get drunk and then driving.

These days the PC Plonkers would require closely defined tests to ensure that the person really was drunk!

Les

France has plenty of Alcohol related problems as does denmark Germany Austrailia Finland Poland Russia ........................

If you think the English like a drink go and see some Finish get on it. I once went drinking with some finns of an evening and at 6 am I gave up and left knowing I was one drink away from a disaster, they carried on like they were just geting warmed up.

Definition: Alcohol consumption, Liters per capita (15+)
Countries 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2003 2006 2007
Australia 9.4 11.6 12.9 10.5 9.8 9.8
Austria 10.9 13.9 13.8 12.6 11.1 11.1
Belgium 8.9 11.7 13.5 12.1 10.3 10.7
Canada 7.0 8.8 10.7 7.4 7.6 7.8
Czech Republic 11.7 11.3 11.8 12.1 11.9
Denmark 5.5 8.6 11.7 11.7 13.1 13.0 12.2 12.1
Finland 2.7 5.8 7.9 9.5 8.6 9.3 10.1
France 20.4 19.5 15.9 14.0 13.4
Germany 7.5 13.4 13.8 10.5 10.2 10.1
Greece 13.2 10.6 9.5 9.0
Hungary 8.2 11.5 14.9 13.9 12.0 13.2
Iceland 3.8 4.3 5.2 6.1 6.5 7.2
Ireland 4.9 7.0 9.6 11.2 14.2 13.5 13.4
Italy 16.6 17.8 16.3 11.0 9.0 8.1
Japan 6.1 7.1 9.2 8.6 8.4 7.9
Korea 9.1 8.9 8.6
Luxembourg 13.1 12.8 13.4 14.8 15.4 15.5
Mexico 3.3 4.9 4.8 4.6
Netherlands 3.7 7.8 11.5 9.9 10.1 9.7
New Zealand 5.3 9.8 11.8 10.1 8.9 8.9 9.4 9.2
Norway 3.4 4.7 5.3 5.0 5.7 6.0 6.5
Poland 8.3 8.3 8.1
Portugal 14.8 16.1 12.9 11.4
Slovak Republic 6.9 12.8 14.5 13.4 8.9 7.4 8.6
Spain 16.1 18.4 13.5 11.5 11.7
Sweden 4.8 7.2 6.7 6.4 6.2 7.0 6.8
Switzerland 12.1 14.2 13.5 12.9 11.2 10.8 10.2
Turkey 0.9 1.1 1.8 1.4 1.5 1.5 1.2
United Kingdom 7.1 9.4 9.8 10.4 11.2 10.9
United States 7.8 9.5 9.5 10.5 8.3 8.1 8.1

Drink offers & buying rounds can mean people can get drunk very easily without going near the bar....

A few of my mates used to get blattered at home before they even got into town.

Technically, you could receive a caution for rape. :mad:

Bar staff can be fined £80 for serving drunks (or to friends of drunks). A licencee risks up to £20000 in fines, losing the licence and prison time for the same. It's the same for seving alcohol to minors. However, if someone is clearly ****-faced the licencee and staff have no obligation, other than moral, to prevent someone driving off.

If you were to prosecute staff for the behaviour of that person once they have left an establishment is often difficult to establish how many pubs/bars the person has been to previously, who served them and how much was served to them, who purchased it etc. Hence why it's only really test-purchasing by Police sending in minors which affects the bar staff/licencee.

I would hate to be one to defend the 'Government' however the use of price per unit as a control mechanism has not come from the revenue but from a range of independent advisers.

Will it work?
Will the revenue be directed back towards dealing with alcohol abuse?
Will the revenue be directed towards healthcare?
Will it be complemented by appropriate action as mentioned above such as prohibiting the sale of alcohol to someone who is already intoxicated - very effective in many US states?

Luminous,

If drinking only afflicted those drinking then great. But it doesn't at all - the increased cost of healthcare, social welfare and policing is very significant and I suspect a chunk of it comes out of my tax bill. It also costs signiicantly in terms of employee productivity - amazing how many people call in sick after a big event like a (rare) England victory on the world stage!

Demonstrate to me that taxation revenues from alcohol exceed these costs and I will take it back ;)

Edited for accuracy! Its not really drunk much outside of the Glasgow area.

The rest of us up here have way more class ;)

[QUOTE=rossyboy;9167252]What's that, Tennents in the purple tin ? :D

Well I have seen a few Special Brew cans lying about in the street lately :D

There is some amazing statistic that 56% of hazardous litter in Glasgow is broken Buckie bottles!!! I guess once they are empty they're out the window onto the back green!

I also believe it is the number one drink in Coatbridge!!!

It must be awful - each bottle has more than six times the amount of caffeine in it than a can of Coke. So the more pissed you get the more awake you are!

Coatbridge is Glasgow! well it is from a northeners point of view anyway ;)

Cos you would have to shut down every bar in the land on fri and sat night if you couldnt serve drunk people.



The whole point in drinking is to get drunk, waht a stupid law!

Dont talk sh1te, why shouild i pay a fiver for a bottle of peroni instead of 2.80 just cos the council estate scrotes binge on cider every night and trash the park, underpass, carpark where ever they hang out?


A minimum price for alcohol is like the congestion charge in london: it will become the preserve of the rich, no one else can afford it!


If alcohol gets too expensive, the scrotes wil take what ever is cheaper, be it cut to death coke, cheap crack, that fcuking new plant food drug thats on offer in every pub toilet in town, weed, phet whatever is there at the time!



It will solve nothing other than pi55ing us normal people off who like a drink occasionally!

Here Here,totally agree